COPE – Overdose First Aid

The COPE Program

Penington Institute’s Community Overdose Prevention Education (COPE) program works with any organisation whose clients include people who use opioids and/or people who may witness an overdose.

We provide training and support to those services, allowing them to set up their own programs to train clients to prevent, recognise and respond to opioid overdose using naloxone.

The training for staff takes no more than an hour and will help you provide brief intervention training to clients in ten to fifteen minutes.

For more information on the COPE program, contact Penington Institute on 03 9650 0699 or at info@penington.org.au.

Naloxone saves lives

In Victoria every year hundreds of people die from pharmaceutical or illicit drug overdose. Many of those deaths involve opioid drugs like oxycodone, morphine or heroin. Naloxone is a medicine that temporarily reverses the effects of opioid overdose, allowing a person to breathe and buying time for medical help to arrive. Naloxone is completely legal, safe and easy to use.

You can learn more about opioid overdose and naloxone below. View a list of Victorian services that provide naloxone training at the bottom of this page.

Prenoxad comes with needles but naloxone ampoules do not. If someone is accessing naloxone ampoules they need to have 3ml luer lock syringes and 23g needles. These may be available at the pharmacy or at a Needle and Syringe Program.

Training

Below is a list of naloxone training providers for people at risk of overdose / potential overdose witnesses. If you work at an agency and want naloxone training please contact Penington Institute on 03 9650 0699.